Driver held after ramming car, then hitting it with bat

Authorities arrested a Tigard man who allegedly rammed a car then attacked its driver with a baseball bat last Thursday evening in Raleigh Hills.

Washington County sheriffs deputies said Ryan Thomas, 22, of Tigard, was driving recklessly on Southwest Scholls Ferry Road in a Ford Expedition near Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway when he crashed into a Chevrolet Impala in a left turn lane.

Sgt. Bob Ray, a sheriffs office spokesman, said Thomas then threatened the driver of the Impala with a baseball bat before driving off.

The Impalas right side and taillight were damaged in the crash, and a four-inch dent was found on the car where it had recently been beaten with a blunt object, Ray said.

Neither of the Impalas occupants were injured, and witnesses gave deputies a description of the Ford as well as its license plate information.

Witnesses told police the Ford intentionally rammed the Impala as it was attempting to make a left turn, then Thomas got out of the vehicle and swung the bat at the car.

Deputies tracked down the Ford and Thomas at his home on Southwest Walnut Street in Tigard. Thomas reportedly did not cooperate with authorities.

Thomas is charged with unlawful use of a weapon, hit and run, reckless driving, menacing, disorderly conduct, criminal mischief and reckless endangering.

He was lodged in the Washington County Jail on $25,000 bail, Ray said.